Bria's Blogie

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Just say no.

A girl-- now a woman-- that I once played tennis with has come into the hospital as one of my patients, or rather the patient of one of the physical therapists I'm working with. She's about one or two years older than I and didn't play tennis for long at the same time I did, so I only knew her briefly. I took some group lessons with her probably about five years ago at one of the local clubs. She impressed me from the very beginning as overly confident, bossy and sassy to the point of rudeness; if I were the cursing sort, I'd say she was a "B****" but I'm not the cursing kind so I won't say that exactly; the above statement I say because plainly, that's what she was. She scared me personally; she had this fire in her eye all the time, that appeared like that of the angry bears I had seen on television.

This same physical person has appeared for therapy with one of the therapists I'm working with, like I said, except she's missing that fire. She seemed lackadaisical, not exactly on planet Earth an d was easily confused by the therapist's directions in her exercises. This sort of mental and physical lack shouldn't appear in someone so young or that had been athletic in the not too distant past. Then I realized the reason for such symptoms; I had heard from the girls on the tennis team this past school year that lately this particular person had quit school--even though one of her parents could get her a great price at a local university as they work there-- and had gotten into the local drug scene. *lightbulb* I had never seen the long range effects of drugs on someone I know personally before, and sadly, I can now say I have. Say a prayer for her; we'll call her "A" to protect her identity even though it would probably be the best thing for her if someone in law inforcement found her out.

For the kiddos, the moral of the story here is: just say no to drugs, unless you don't care to be mentally present on planet Earth and lose some degree of physical functioning as well.

Characteristics which annoy.

Uncooperative people rub me the wrong way; I would LOVE to strangle one or two right now. This probably isn't the best attitude to have on a Thursday prior to umpiring a tennis tournament. I meet the greatest amount of such persons when I umpire. I don't think they understand; I'm the one wearing the ugly shirt with a rule book sticking out my back pocket so I'm in charge. Most recognize this fact, but others want to push your buttons as hard as they can without deploying weapons of mass destruction.

I also do not enjoy inconsiderate people. I think a riot would probably be suiting for these people's punishment. Examples of inconsiderate people are those that make plans and then break them with their plan-mates at the last minute or that never return their phone calls in a timely fashion.

What other sort people characteristics bug me? Conceit. Those sort really need to get over themselves. That's all there is to that.

Please note I have named no names and am currently going to confront one of the problem peole now. I think I'll say a prayer first. No, I know I will.  

My Recent Life in a Snapshot.

Indifference

No rest for the weary.

I appologize for the lack of blogs. I've had a more than full plate this week. Never fear; Jesus still gets His due time, just not the form the internet is used to seeing from me. Nothing too terribly interesting has happened. Just a lot of work.

The kids at VBS were great the first night, but last night I had to threaten to not let them play the game at the end of the evening if they didn't behave. Ran out of time before we got to play the game anyway, so I need to come up with an amazing game-- like I promised-- before Friday night; any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I had a horrible realization about one of co-workers at the hospital yesterday. It was so terrible I will not go into any further detail here in order to protect myself and perhaps others. Just know that I'm a little distraught at the moment.

I'm at the tennis center again. It's really boring in here sometimes, actually most of the time. I had planned on bringing my Bible with me this time and doing my myth devo here during my loads of down time, but I didn't get to go home between leaving the hospital and coming here because the guy that works the shift before me here needed to leave thirty minutes early. No rest for the weary. *sigh*

I think I'll call a few people; I'm going to the Dalla/Ft. Worth area this weekend for a wedding and trying to get some of my friends that live around there to come eat lunch with me. No such luck yet, but perhaps a phone call will inform that I really do want to eat with them. I would imagine half these people don't realize I consider them friends because I didn't get to hang out with them much this last semester due to tennis. Anyway, I've rambled for too long about absolutely nothing.

Feel like an incompetent idiot: check.

To be effective in ministry or life, I need to experience all kinds of things.

Myth #31

(First, let me appologize for the lack of myth yesterday. I made a bad decission which didn't allow me to manage my time wisely enough for my little bit of time with Jesus here.)

"A person's response to the meaning and personal value of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection is usually determined before a person reaches eighteen. In fact, a majority of Americans make a lasting determination about the personal significance of Christ's death and resurrection by age twleve."-- Barna Research Group (2003)

Psalm 26:2; Matthew 7:1; Luke 15:11-32; John 8:1-11; 2 Corinthians 10:12-18; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 2:17

I've often found myself in this trap. "Well, maybe if I had smoked weed, then come to Christ like so-and-so people would respond better to me." etc. That really is a convincing arguement in my own eyes, except that I know a life with Jesus from the beginning is a different sort of testimony that will touch other sorts of people that the above kind will not. A life walked with Jesus all the way through shows how loving and caring He is with His peope and how He helps them along life's paths. We don't have to experience everything this world has to offer to be able to understand the traps and temptations. The temptation is always there--always has been; being a person who has faught valiantly with this or that temptation and can tell a story of triumph is much more encouraging and uplifting than one that just gave in. The wild child to Christ's child testimonies are great too; they seem to always get the "Wow!" ect. but the His kid from start to finish tales have their place too. 

Just a note: This is going to be a rough week for me. I'm volunteering at the hospital from 8-5 then have VBS 3 nights a week and starting my job at the local tennis center 2 nights a week. So basically, I'll be required to be on my feet with lots of energy and a smile for everyone until about 9 every night, after getting up at 5:30 am to walk the dog. Prayers are much needed and greatly appreciated. :-)

Children are resilient; divorce won't permanently affect them.

Myth #30

"We've seriously underestimated the long-term impact of divorce on children [and]... the numerous ways a child's experiences differ when growing up in a divorced family."--Judith Wllerstein, author of The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 15-Year Landmark Study

Psalm 68:5-6; Joel 2:25; Malachi 2:16; Romans 8:28

Wow, what a lie. Divorce is a life changing experience for the couple so why wouldn't it affect the kids? They may bounce back, but what if they resent one parent for "deserting" them? What if one parent really does desert them? A child needs both a prominent male and female figure in their lives. What if they grow up not believing that lasting love is possible and never find that for themselves? What a loss. Many questions with many more answers most of which aren't looking good for the kiddos. Think about it. 

The way I dress in none of their business.